Bilawal alleges rigging in AJK polls, demands inquiry commission

MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday accused authorities of allowing interference in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir election process, demanded an inquiry commission, and said the state must decide whether it would serve the national interest or the interests of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Muzaffarabad, Bilawal said the PPP had won public support in Mirpur and was now responsible for protecting that mandate. He questioned the credibility of the electoral process, asking whether the situation in Azad Kashmir could be called democracy.

In the first phase of the AJK Legislative Assembly elections, the PML-N won nine of the 13 constituencies in Mirpur on the basis of unofficial and provisional results, while the PPP secured four seats.

Bilawal alleged that attacks took place at 30 polling stations despite security arrangements and said such incidents could not be justified. He claimed the phased election schedule had been designed to facilitate rigging and that polling station attacks were carried out to steal votes.

Referring to PPP leader Chaudhry Yasin, Bilawal questioned how a candidate contesting from two constituencies could lose in his own village. He said the party had faced similar circumstances in previous elections and would not allow anyone to snatch people’s rights this time.

He also criticised internet shutdowns, saying Azad Kashmir must not be made to resemble Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Bilawal said some young people had come out after being given promises, while others protested because internet services had been suspended.

Turning to the wider unrest in Kashmir, Bilawal said the dispute could have been resolved politically and peacefully without loss of life. He said he had never argued that every demand of protesters should be accepted, but maintained that a constitutional and political solution was possible, while adding that protesters too should have adopted constitutional means.

He said neither the government nor the protesters appeared willing to step back because the matter had become one of ego, and expressed regret over the loss of lives.

Bilawal said the PPP had never sought the abolition of reserved seats and alleged that such seats had repeatedly been used for political purposes. He urged voters to participate in the electoral process regardless of party affiliation, saying they should cast their ballots for Kashmir.

Calling for free and transparent elections ahead of the next round in Muzaffarabad on August 2, Bilawal told party workers to intensify their campaign and remain vigilant against what he described as attempts to manipulate the vote. He said the people of Kashmir would not allow their mandate to be stolen.

Describing the PPP as a peaceful party, Bilawal said its workers wanted to take part in the elections within the constitutional framework, but warned that attacks on party workers and polling stations would not be tolerated. He said, "We are peaceful and want to remain peaceful; otherwise I am also President Zardari's son."